The Shores Theatre
(AKA: Shores-Madrid)
Open: 1942 | Closed: 2006 (for Remodeling) | Capacity: 440+
The Shores Theater – Circa 1942
The Shores Theatre opened in 1942 and was known at the time as the "Shores-Madrid Theatre" with a seating capacity of around 440 patrons. At that time, St. Clair Shores was a lively little village with one of its main attractions being the famous Jefferson Beach Amusement Center which was complete with a roller-coaster and other fun things to do. After a fun-filled day of excitement at Jefferson Beach, many folks would enjoy a first-run film at the Shores-Madrid and also enjoy the local nightlife.
1927 postcard of the Jefferson Beach Amusement Center with The Thunderbolt coaster shown.
The coaster was designed by acclaimed coaster designer, John Miller.
The coaster was dismantled in 1944.
The theater’s original design housed only one screen, and, like many others at the time, featured Simplex carbon arc lamp technology and reel to reel films. This type of film required special care and handling.
1935 Simplex projectors with Peerless carbon arc lamp houses.
Note the exhaust ports (chimney) for the fumes created by the carbon rods.
These are similar to those that could have been used at The Shores Madrid.
Two Simplex bases still remain at the location.
The movies themselves were maintained by projectionists that had to splice the films and vignettes together prior to a showing. Many famous movies were noted to be shown there, including the House of Wax with Vincent Price, in 3D.
House of Wax (1953) Stars: Vincent Price, Charles Bronson,
Phyllis KIrk, and Carolyn Jones.
The 1953 horror feature 'House of Wax' was one of the scariest movies of the time (possibly still is) and It "scared the heck out of folks" and gave many people young and old alike, nightmares for months.
In the 1950's and 60's, the Saturday Matinees would always seem to be a double feature of "mismatched genre movies": The Movie 'Black Beauty' (a family film) paired up with 'Pit and the Pendulum' (a horror flick).
1946 'Black Beauty' and 1961 'The Pit and the Pendulum'
Management would also try to keep the kids from getting "too rowdy" by sometimes turning-off the movie until things would settle down in the audience of "young adults". Many times you could hear "Alright kids! If you want to see how this ends you're going to all have to sit down and be quiet." Soon they would settle-down and the show would go on.
The theatre continued to operate for many years until the late 1990's when it was remodeled and upgraded into a twin-theater design. Some of the other renovations included new wiring, updated projection equipment and area, and even a larger central lobby for patrons to enjoy.
Popcorn and Drinks enjoyed by a couple patrons (2006)
It had been said by some of the patrons that the theatre was "still as nice as it was 40 years ago, they have the same marquee, and you can walk accross the street for a burger & fries before or after the movie". This was because of the local restaurants nearby and that it was still "a touch of Americana" to visit the theatre and surrounding restaurants.
Artistic Concept for the front of the Shores Theatre
Early in 2006, plans were proposed to remodel and expand the Shores Theatre further beyond the "twin" change that was done in the late 1990's. The plans included expanding the Shores into a larger, eight (8) screen complex with twice the capacity it currently had. However, this was met with some opposition by the City leaders and local residents because of traffic and noise concerns.
Later that same year, the city of St. Clair Shores approved revised site plans to expand the theatre to only five (5) screens and just-over 500 seats. There had been a study conducted that would support a minimal impact on the surrounding areas by only adding three screens to the existing two that the theatre currently had. The reaction to this expansion plan was positive from both the public and the City leaders alike.
Part of this plan was to include providing the nearby school with new tennis courts and a renovated soccer field due to the concerns with parking for both the theatre and the school, which was usually shared between the theatre and the school.
The biggest challenge to any expansion project with the theatre had always been the parking for the patrons, no matter how large or small the expansion plans were.
In November 2006, work began on the theatre following the 2-to-5-screen expansion plan with an estimated 5-month timeframe for the building to be closed while the work was performed. The plan was to have the Theatre ready for a May 1st, 2007 Grand Re-Opening.
Some of the proposed work included the theater interior being gutted to make way for five theaters with stadium seating, two concessions stands, a larger lobby and two entrances. The exterior of the facility, which was built in 1935, was to feature two automated ticket kiosks and new signage. The theater's existing marquee was to be preserved by the city's historical society, and of course, under the new plan, capacity was to rise to about 508 seats.
Night view, 2005
Plans also included having to make room for the additional features. The theater's back (west) wall was to come down and extend about 100 feet into the existing parking lot, which would remove much of the patron parking leaving it with about 4 spaces, down from 24 that it currently had. Theatre officials had made agreements with some of the nearby businesses for parking but when the project was placed on hold in mid-2007, so were the agreements.
In January of 2008 there was a court hearing which allowed the expansion plans to continue aside from some disagreements regarding the parking situation here. Work on remodeling and expansion was still on-hold at that point and did not continue.
Shores Theatre 2002
In 2009, the Theatre was put-up for Sale and the project is assumed to be abandoned along with any hope by the local residents that the theatre would return to showing any movies. There had been some discussion regarding possibly opening the Theatre as a "live stage performance" theatre.
There are other Metro Detroit theatres that have gone through similar evolutionary changes and survived to meet the needs of the public that they serve. There are many groups of folks that want to preserve the history of the Shores Theatre as well as the many memories that were created here. Many of those people also wish to keep the memories going with the building intact and restored.
One of the screens at the Shores, January 2012, during a paranormal investigation.
Over the years, there have been reports of the Shores being "haunted by something" as well as many strange noises and/or lights. In January 2012, there was a paranormal investigation performed based on those accounts and stories. Results of that investigation are inconclusive and still ongoing at this time.
Today, the theatre sits silent and the marquee dark. It remains a quiet reminder of days gone-by with it's classic-styling and many memories by those who attended a showing of their favorite film here. It survived to show more recent films, but most people remember it for the good times that they had here long ago and were saddened because of the closure of this jewel of St. Clair Shores.
Enjoy the hunt as much as i've enjoyed the hide.